Crazy Beardie

My bearded dragon is completely crazy.... but first you need some information on him. He has a great home 55 gallon tank with a hammock a hide away a water bowl carpet and always has leafy greens. And fruits.... he gets 5 worms every other day, like suggested. I'm not sure exactly if my beardie is a he or not but that's what I am going with. He is about 2 years old and I use to pick him up every day. But then we moved houses and he began acting like a complete psycho. He hates all people. Every time anyone comes near him he starts to lunge at the cage and act like he is going to bite you. The first time I thought he was just energetic so I went to take him out, and he bit me so i figured he should stay in his cage for the day. And ever since he is still acting crazy. Every day he tries to bite me, he even tries to jump up just to bite me. I can't let him anymore, And I need to know what I can do to make him my happy little beardie again. And please don't suggest hand feeding as I have tried and he just goes for my fingers.

And his beard is not black 80 percent of the time

How long has this been going on?

I'm assuming his setup is the same as it was when he was a happy dragon?

What are the temps on each side of his enclosure?

What are you measuring the temperature with?

Did you recently change out any of his lights or move/swap any decor?

What brand of UVB lighting are you using?

How is his appetite? What is his complete diet?

And his bowels? lol

Has there been any other changes aside from the move?

Are there any other behavioral changes aside from the agitation?

Is he a confirmed male? Can you provide a photo of his vent from under the tail POV? Maybe we can help confirm his gender. If he doesn't get super defensive after lights are off in the evening, maybe you could sneak in a picture of his butt without him biting your fingers. :lol:


This is just a wild guess here but if it is a male, at his age they can sometimes get a bit wild due to a surge of hormonal changes. This has happened to my boy before as well. My boy was restless and even went after my hand twice one day while I was trying to spot clean his tank. He got over it and went back to himself after a day or two. Wasn't long at all and hasn't happened since. I didn't mess with him while he was amped up. I did give him a light misting with my mister though which distracted him from his aggression long enough for me to finish cleaning his tank. :lol:

A big move or change in scenery can sometimes really stress them out. New smells too. If all else is good(heat, lights, appetite, poops), it could be he's just really stressed out. Making sure he's comfortable and giving him more privacy to settle in for a while will do him a lot of good. Limit his human interactions until he's comfortable in his new environment. Keep it quiet in the room he's in or move him to a more peaceful location. Figure out what is triggering him the most and find ways to remove those triggers. Get creative, you know him best! If simply walking past his tank is a trigger, then blocking his view of you or anyone else passing by with some newspaper or wrapping paper would help minimize that trigger. I would give him a couple weeks at least before trying to directly interact with him again to limit any stress ONLY if you don't suspect any illness.

I know you said not to suggest hand feeding him but I am curious how he'd react if you fed him a little bit of baby food from a needless syringe when he was gaping his mouth at you. Lots of beardies really love the taste of baby foods. My boy loves sweet potato flavor in particular. I think it's worth a shot! If it gets him to rethink his agitation even just for a second I think you're onto something! It might be a way to earn his trust little by little if it works too. Grab a few different flavors of baby food to see which one he likes the most. My boy also likes the taste of pears a lot.

Keep me informed! I'd love to know how it goes with your baby.

Thank you so much. I will ho out and get baby food and a syringe tomorrow. I will most definitely keep you informed. And maybe I should move him out of the livingroom.

So yesterday my little mufasa was acting a little less psycho so I took him to go see my local pet shop and they told me that mufasa ia really a she.... so mufasa ia now Mary.... and she has been being good again. Was acting a little crazy earlier but only because she wanted more of that baby food. She loves it. And I am so thankful for your advice.

Zucchini pare I got it in the squeezable pouch because I couldn't find a syringe